Roller-skate



4UNITED sTATEs PATENT orrron.-

HENRY PENNIE, OF' BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

` ROLLER-SKATE.

Specification ofl Letters Patent No. 31,994, dated April 9, 1861.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY PENNIE, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Roller-Skate; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specication, in which Figure 1, is a longitudinal section through the improved roller skate, taken in the ver tical plane indicated by the Vred line ai, a", Fig. 2. Fig. 2, is a bottom view of the improved skate. Fig. 3, is a transverse section taken in the verticalplane indicated by the red line fj, y, Fig. l. Fig. 4, shows in perspective views, the two metal parts which confine a ring of leather in place, to form a roller.

4Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to certain novel improvements in skates which have rollers or wheels under them instead of the common metal runner, and which are known as roller, or parlor, skates,7 in contradistinction to ice skates.

The object of my invention is to increase the rolling surface laterally without materially increasing the friction thereof, thereby giving the skate a firmer bearing than has been obtained by the employment of a single line of rollers, and enabling the beginner in the art of skating, to balance him` self and stand on the skates with perfect ease.

It also has for its object a novel mode of applying two sets of rollers to the Jfoot stand, whereby said rollers may be adjusted transversely, and brought nearer together or set farther apart for increasing or diminishing the lateral bearing surface according to the degree of proficiency the person has attained in using t e skates.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A, is a thin metallic sole plate which is curved up in front so as to conform to the curved surface of the sole of the boot, as shown in Fig. l of the drawings, and around .the heel part a flange a, is formed, which prevents any lateral or backward movement of the heel of the boot when the skate is strapped thereto.

B, B, aretwo parallel plates, the upper edges of which are secured in a suitable manner to the bottom of sole plate A. These two plates B, B, extend from the toe to the heel part of sole plate A, and they should be at equal distances from and parallel to a longitudinal line drawn through the center of the skate, as shown by Fig. 2 of the drawings. These two parallel plates B, B, together with the plate A, to which they are rigidly secured, or of which they may form a part, constitute the foot stand, or stock, of the skate to which the rollers are applied as will be hereinafter fully explained.

rllhe rollers or small wheels are made of metal, principally, but between the metal flanges of each wheel a ring of some suitable substance softer than metal, such for instance as leather, hard rubber, or even wood, is interposed, which ring is somewhat larger in diameter than the metal flanges between which it is secured, so that a soft and noiseless rolling surface is obtained.

The rollers are all of an equal diameter as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, of the draw ings, and they have their bearings on axles b, b, Z9, Z9, which pass transversely through the lower edges of parallel bearing plates B, B, and receive nuts c, c, c, on one of their ends which secure them in their places. The axles b, b, b, are not allowed to rotate in their bearings, but the rollers turn loosely on the axles. On each axle l), two rollers are placed and every roller should be at an equal distance from the middle of the length of its ,respective axle, and as all the axles are of the same length there. will be two lines or rows of rollers instead of one row or line, as hitherto. It will now be seen that a firm bearing is obtained on each side of the skate from the heel to the toe thereof, which will enable any person to. stand on the skates with confidence, as the two sets of rollers will prevent the skates from tipping to one .side or the other, and also the involuntary bending of the ankle of the skater, as must frequently occur where one set of rollers is used, particularly with persons who are not well skilled in the use of skates.

I construct the rollers in the following manner: A circular liange portion d, is cast with a hub e, and tubular projection f, as shown clearly in Fig. 4 of the drawings. A circular ringg, of leather or other suitable substance is slipped on the hub e, and a circular'flange l1., of the same diameter as flange CZ, is now slipped on the hub e, and the two metal flanges CZ, and z., having the ring g, between them are firmly bolted together'. The interposed .substance g, being slightly larger in diameter than the flanges d, and L, it will form the periphery of the roller. The rollers are all made in this way, with holes through their axes, and as the flanges z., can be taken off at pleasure t-he rings g, may be removed when too much worn, and new rings substituted. The tubular projection f, on each roller is used to increase the bearing surface of the roller on the axle b, to prevent these rollers from wearing loose in consequence of the lateral strain which is put upon the rollers in the evolutions of the skater. These tubes f, also serve to keep each pair of rollers at their proper distance apart on their axles, to prevent their working laterally, and the ends of the tubes of each pair of rollers will abut in the middle of the axles, or washers may be introduced on the axles between the tubes, if the tubes are not long enough.

The axles b, Z), o, are each Ina-de with a button head on one end, and a shoulder and a short screw formed on the other end, the shoulder abuts against the inside of one of the plates B, while the screw end passes through this plate and receives a nut which keeps the axle rigidly in place, as shown in Fig. 3, of the drawings.

Now from the foregoing description it will be seen that each roller or wheel has an independent rolling motion on its respective axle, and that when the two sets or rows of rollers are arranged as shown in Figs. l, and 2, of the drawings good bearing surfaces are obtained not only when the l i skater 1s standing upright, but also when he 1s in motion, and as new beginners are ing with ease and freedom the wide bearing given to the rolling surface of the improved" skate will add greatly to the strength of the rollers and the parts to which the rollers are attached.

The principal objections to the roller skates having only a single row of rollers, is the danger to the learner of the foot being suddenly turned on one side, thereby causing loss of confidence and frequently serious injury to the ankle. In my invenn tion not only is the beginner at once assured of his safety but it also enables the expert skater to avail himself of a direct bearing on the center of one set of rollers either in skating directly forward or in turning-in a curve, by a slight inclination of the foot.

Vhen some proficiency has been obtained in using the skates the rollers may be set nearer together and finally one set of rollers may be used arranged along the center of the skate, by using suitable washers placed on the axles on each side of each roller.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent;

As an improved art of manufacture a roller skate provided with two rows of tubular adjustable rollers and the whole constructed and operating as herein shown and described.

HENRY PENNIE. Witnesses LEWIS A. TUCKER, M. M. LIvINGs'roN.

Vvery apt to strain skates more than thosewxV who can go through the movements of skat-` 

